Matthew effect among nearby schools and its implications for equality of educational opportunity

Year: 2014

Author: Li-yun, Wang

Type of paper: Abstract refereed

Abstract:
  School sizes differ. However, the implications of different school sizes on educational inequality are inconclusive.  Some suggested that smaller schools are better for students because of the social capital they possess. Other argued that bigger schools are better equipped to education students.  Past research on equality of educational opportunity focuses more on the inequality between rural and urban schools.  Little attention has been paid towards the inequality among nearby schools where the sense of relative deprivation is stronger compared to urban-rural gap.  Matthew effect represents school choice of parents, too. Through the study of Matthew effect, parents' school choice behavior can be better analyzed.  Implications can be drawn from these findings for school reform. Matthew effect among nearby schools is a commonly seen phenomenon in Taiwan. However, there is a lack of systematic study on the scope of that phenomenon and its implications for educational inequality for bigger and smaller schools.        To address the research purposes, GIS was used to identify the near-by schools that meet the selection criteria (i.e. nearby school with twice the difference in student size). For the convenience of discussion, these schools are referred to as "Matthew schools.  Interviews were conducted on administrators and parents of the selected pairs of Matthew schools.         The paper first describes the current conditions of Matthew schools in terms of their total quantity and location in Taiwan.  The second part of the paper examines the parental behaviors in making school choice for their children.  Finding shows that Matthew schools appear not only in urban areas but also in rural ones, indicating that there are common concerns for parents' school choice.  Unfortunately, parents chose schools for their children based on irrational judgment and insufficient information.  Most parents preferred to send their children to bigger schools because they felt it was safer to stay with the crowd.   They believe that there must be good reasons for some schools to be bigger.  Other reasons parents propose include better school resources, cultivating the competiveness of their children, and better social network.  As to the implications for educational inequality, students in bigger schools do get less attention from teachers.  However, smaller schools seem to suffer more from Matthew effect.  They are more likely to admit disadvantaged and at-risk students.  Second, smaller schools are less likely to recruit quality teachers.  Their teachers also have much heavier work load and low morale. Suggestions are discussed.   

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